SFR to become second carrier to offer mobile HD voice in Europe – will it beat Orange?

A bit more information can be found by digging through SFR’s press site. A June 30, 2010 press release brags about SFR’s 3G+ wireless coverage across 87 percent of the French population and then says the “network of tomorrow” will be 100% “High Definition.”

SFR says it is running a pilot this summer with Nokia devices; HD Humerique says the service will go live this fall. A range of mobile HD devices will be supported, including the Nokia N8.

According to Wikipedia, SFR had 20 million customers as of January 2009 and is 56 percent owned by Vivendi and 44 percent by Vodafone.

Interestingly, this announcement puts SFR in a neck-and-neck race with Orange/France Telecom to deploy mobile HD voice services. Orange is currently conducting its trial in Europe and has also announced plans to introduce mobile HD voice services this fall in France.